Out and about town

Since I have been to Gavle a number of times, I feel very 'at home' here.  Also, I guess, I assume that it will always be as I left it.

The construction on the town homes behind Rich and Jenn's house has begun. It has been in the works since they moved into the house 3 years ago.  So far the pipes for the underground community heating system have been installed.  The diggers used for this process are fascinating to TvE and she loves tractors too.  I love the incredibly articulated arms on these machines -- they seem much more manoeuvrable and versatile than the ones I have watched so many times with K.  There is also sidewalk construction right in this area and some infrastructure replacement.  Some roads are definitely to be avoided.

The other incredible construction job is in the river.  Yes, I said "in".  There is a tracked excavator in the river and they are piling rocks along the main river bed in an effort, it seems, to redirect the water through the old lock system.  Perhaps there is work on bridges that needs to be done.  In any case, we watched today as a front-end loader handed off rocks to the excavator which then dumped them in the river.  I think every child loves big machines at some point!

Epi is gone!  That wonderful sourdough bakery where I got my starter last March, has moved to Stockholm.  The rye bread from the Central Bakery is just not the same.

We made applesauce last evening.  The gentleman living in the other half of this duplex has a machine which takes cooked apples -- cores, stems, skins and all, and turns it into the most wonderful applesauce.  The machine also makes sausages.  I have never seen one like it.

The cooked mush goes into the top, the applesauce comes out through a screen (under the white hood) in the middle, and the waste goes into the far bowl.  One even puts the waste through a second time to make sure one gets all the good stuff out.  There was an incredibly small amount of waste.

Today we took on the rhubarb.  Some of the stems rivalled my arm!  Some went into crisp, but most (6 kg) is sitting in a sugar water in the basement to extract flavour.  Rhubarb Saft is very popular.

Baby Rowan's cold is getting much better and so her breathing is far less laboured.  And, she sleeps so much better.  What a sweetie!